Special Mothers’ Day Fat-Full Edition!
Even vegans watching their diets deserve some chocolate decadence every now and then–and this goes doubly for mothers. Most of us watch not only our own diets but also our children’s and significant others’. So I say, give your mom or your children’s mom or your partner’s mom or your pets’ mom a treat this year. Surprise her with a chocolate mousse pie so dense with luscious chocolate that she’ll never believe it’s vegan. But it is.
I’ve been making a plain vegan chocolate mousse pie for years, but today I decided to add a little something extra–orange liqueur–and it upped the decadence quotient considerably. If you want to turn this back into a “regular” chocolate mousse, just omit the liqueur and add a little extra sweetener. Or you can play with the flavor and add another type of liqueur. Mom’s appreciate creativity!
Caveat: If the mom is seriously watching her diet, it’s best to check with her first to see how she feels about an occasional treat. If she doesn’t want the added fat and sugar of this dessert, consider making her a fat-free one. A few of my favorites are Chocolate Pudding Cake, Fatfree and Fabulous Fudgy Brownies, Applesauce Cake, and Upside-Down Peach Amaretto Cake. Or for a delicious dessert with no fat or added sugar, whip up a batch of Banana “Ice Cream.” She’ll appreciate the thought and time you put into creating something with her tastes and needs in mind.
Chocolate a l’Orange Mousse Pie
Ingredients
- 1 12-ounce package firm silken tofu
- 10 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips (dairy-free kind)
- 3 tablespoons orange liqueur
- 1 tablespoon agave nectar or maple syrup
- 1 prepared graham cracker crust
- sliced almonds and grated orange peel for garnish
Instructions
- Blend tofu, orange liquor, and agave nectar or syrup in food processor (or blender) just until smooth. Melt chocolate chips over double boiler. Put chocolate into processor and mix with tofu until creamy. Pour into a graham cracker crust. Chill. Top with sliced almonds and orange peel. Serve to a mom and watch her smile!
SusanV
Older comments:
Mari said…
I have made almost this exact same variation of the mooless tofu pie, but I substituted the liquid sweetner with an equal amount of marmalade. I liked it.
12:02 AM, May 13, 2006
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Freedom said…
That is a great picture! It wouldn’t be that high in fat if you used carob chips in place of chocolate – I recently discovered that I love carob!
5:26 AM, May 13, 2006
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Brooke said…
Is it wrong that I am licking my computer screen right now???? I must leave this page up so maybe my husband will walk by and see this wonderful pie he could make for his lovely wife (and mother of his two kids!!!). This mom has no problem with a dessert full of fat and chocolately goodness! 🙂
-Brooke
9:58 AM, May 13, 2006
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SusanV said…
Mari, the marmalade sounds like a great idea. Wish I’d thought of that!
Freedom, I’m not a big fan of carob, so I haven’t tried that variation. But if you do like it, go for it! I’ve heard of people doing this with cocoa powder, but you’d have to add sugar, and I’m not sure how solid it’d be.
Brooke, I sure hope your husband gets the message, LOL!
12:26 PM, May 13, 2006
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SusanV said…
Just for fun, I thought I’d start a list of all the variations of this recipe I’ve tried. Please feel free to add your own.
1) Regular, with a little vanilla
2)Amoretto–with amoretto instead of orange liquor
3) Peanut butter (I haven’t tried this, but I’ve heard people put peanut butter on the bottom, under the chocolate
4) Chocolate mint: Use creme de menthe instead of orange liquor.
Anyone else want to play?
12:30 PM, May 13, 2006
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KaiVegan said…
I’d like to imagine that I’d wake up to a piece of that tomorrow…in bed, but that would never happen because
a. I’d wake up before everyone else
b. my husband doesn’t bake and
c. they have no idea how awesome that would have been!
But to you, Happy Mothers’ Day, Susan!
3:44 PM, May 13, 2006
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VeganDoc said…
That looks delicious! Compared to the non-vegan version of a chocolate mousse pie, it’s not *that* awful for you.
1:17 PM, May 17, 2006
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Carla said…
I have made something similar, but with no orange and I hide Avocado in the filing too, and use a little less tofu because of it. I say hide as my preschooler wouldn’t eat it if she knew it was in there and as it is she gobbles more than her share – and on the same token I make a baked pie crust into which I hide hemp seeds. She thinks she is getting nothing but treat but Mummy has hidden EFA’s… hehehe. The avocado can’t be tasted if you blend it smooth enough and it makes a lovely creamy filling. I have also heard of people making it with raspberries on the bottom. I use Stevia as my sweetner of choice – just a few drops and it isn’t too sweet just yummy and chocolate-y.
11:02 AM, May 20, 2006
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Priti said…
I made this yesterday- it was fantastic! Instead of using one big graham cracker crust, I bought a packet of 6 individual sized crusts and served this. Just wonderful!
3:34 AM, January 25, 2008
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chiara agnesi said…
I used this recipe in a way different than it was intended: I made two of your chocolate orange cakes in round pans, layered orange conserve in between, and then used this chocolate mousse (having just chilled it completely in the blender) as icing — and it turned out great! You have to keep the cake refrigerated, but that is not too much work. Just thought I would pass it on as an alternative — still on the not-fat-free end — to margarine-based icings.
Thanks so much for the wonderful recipes — it’s always great to be able to fool non-vegan non-fat-free people with them 🙂
7:47 AM, April 04, 2008
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Nabeela said…
I was going through my list of recipes-I’d-make-again when I came across this pie I made from your blog a few months ago. I don’t know how it slipped my mind to thank you for this wonderful, wonderful recipe. I LOVED it…I’m planning to make the mousse again as a filling for a non-dairy and egg free cake for a friend of mine. Her daughter is unfortunately allergic to those things.
Thanks again and sorry for the late thanks!
2:57 AM, September 22, 2008
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morinn said…
wow. this is exactly what i was looking for, since we don’t eat eggs. it’s great to see an egg-free desert with chocolates. yummy!!
1:20 PM, February 21, 2009
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Kathy
Susan: I'd love to make this orange mousse pie and am wondering how much orange extract would properly replace the orange liquor. Thanks very much! Kathy
SusanV
Kathy, extract is pretty strong, so I would add just 1/8 of a teaspoonful when you add the chocolate. Taste, and if it needs more orange flavor, add more by 1/8 teaspoons.
Kathy
Susan: Thanks for the quick reply. I'm dashing off to make it now. Love the blog and appreciate the fantastic recipes. Kathy
Kathy
Susan or anyone: I made the pie with 1/4 tsp orange extract in lieu of orange liquor (just cuz that's what I had). The taste was excellent. I've already had a request for another chocolate pie for someone who's more of a "milk" chocolate pie person. Could someone please advise on how I might use this recipe to that end. Cream cheese? Thanks! Kathy
Kathy
Susan: I just wanted to clarify that I'm looking for suggestions to tweak this recipe into a lighter vegan chocolate pie. I'm not looking for tips making an actual lighter dairy milk chocolate pie. Thanks very much. Kathy
Ariel
When I made this pie it didn’t quite set, so it was more mousse than pie. It was real good in spite of the fact it did not come out of the pie plate in nice, neat pieces. I think I may have used the wrong kind of tofu. Did you use the vacuum packed kind?
SusanV
Ariel, sorry about your pie! Yes, I use the Mori-Nu tofu in the vacuum pack. What did you use?
Ariel
I don’t know what to call it but it definitely wasn’t vacuum packed. I think it was packed in water. Well, in any case I was the only one to be unduly disppointed by the results. My ten year old cousin ended up mashing her pie into an oblivion anyhow!
charlie
yummm that looks so bloody delicious i love chocolate
Ginny
That was amazing! Thank you for sharing it.